Abstract
Future 5G services are characterised by unprecedented need for high rate, ubiquitous availability, ultra-low latency and high reliability. The fragmented network view that is widespread in current networks will not stand the challenge posed by next generations of users. A new vision is required, and this paper provides an insight on how network convergence and application-centric approaches will play a leading role towards enabling the 5G vision. The paper, after expressing the view on the need for an end-to-end approach to network design, brings the reader into a journey on the expected 5G network requirements and outlines some of the work currently carried out by main standardisation bodies. It then proposes the use of the concept of network convergence for providing the overall architectural framework to bring together all the different technologies within a unifying and coherent network ecosystem. The novel interpretation of multi-dimensional convergence we introduce leads us to the exploration of aspects of node consolidation and converged network architectures, delving into details of optical-wireless integration and future convergence of optical data centre and access-metro networks. We then discuss how ownership models enabling network sharing will be instrumental in realising the 5G vision. The paper concludes with final remarks on the role SDN will play in 5G and on the need for new business models that reflect the application-centric view of the network. Finally, we provide some insight on growing research areas in 5G networking.
Highlights
O NE of the prevailing dilemmas operators are facing today is how to persuade residential users to take up faster broadband offers in areas where satisfactory speed is already available at competitive price
This paper argues that while this access-metro infrastructure integration is a step in the right direction, it only represents part of the contribution that network convergence can provide in support of the application-centric network vision necessary to deliver future 5G services
The main contribution of this paper was to present a novel perspective on network convergence, proposing a multidimensional, end-to-end approach to network design to enable future 5G services
Summary
O NE of the prevailing dilemmas operators are facing today is how to persuade residential users to take up faster broadband offers in areas where satisfactory speed (for example of the order of fifty to a hundred megabit per second) is already available at competitive price. If we look at the past two decades we see that network convergence has driven the reduction in cost of ownership by moving voice services from the synchronous TDM transmission systems (e.g., Sonet and SDH) to the packet switched architecture used to transport Internet data, through the adoption of Voice over IP (VoIP) technology This technological convergence gave the operators the opportunity to offer bundled broadband services, such as triple play (e.g., voice, Internet and TV) and quadruple play (adding mobile phone to the mix), as a means to reduce their cost and to benefit from economies of scales associated to service consolidation.
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